Human Shield
by dragonwasser
Summary: Peter has fever... and coincidentally a villain is looking for him. Parker-luck sucks. Written for Whumptober prompt 4. Rated T to be safe.


A/N: I feel like I'm getting maybe slightly better at this, though it still isn't that good. Though compared with my last one I think this is much better, especially because it doesn't devolve into total fluff (I love fluff but I'm writing for _Whumptober_, dangit). Anyway, in this fic I get to write Tony and Nat alive, not like my last fic, which I think I prefer. Hope someone enjoys this random, sleep-deprived written fic.

May sighed as she took Peter's temperature. '40 degrees,' she informed him. 'Looks like you're staying home today.'

Staying home... ugh. Peter winced as another wave of dizziness washed over him. Yeah, that was a good idea for today, even if he didn't like it. 'Mhm.'

May was still looking at him anxiously. 'Peter, if you'd like I could stay home with you - I have quite a number of paid leaves left.'

'No, it's fine,' Peter answered her, trying at a smile that honestly felt more like a grimace. 'I'll just be sleeping all day, it'll be fine.'

May hesitated.

'Alright, I guess,' worry still plastered all over her face. 'But if you need me, then call me, OK?' She rummaged around his desk for his phone, then placed it on the bedside table. 'Don't worry too much if you do. Oh, and one more thing,' she said, more sternly. '_Don't you dare_ go out Spider-Manning while you're sick. I know,' she said, holding up a hand to silence Peter, who had just opened his mouth to speak, 'you want to protect people, but like this you're just going to get yourself killed.' She stopped for a breath, then continued, 'If anything goes awry, call the Avengers. _Promise_ me you won't go and tackle whatever it is on your own.'

'Mm,' Peter muttered.

'What was that?'

'I promise,' Peter replied, closing his eyes. She had a point - he'd just slow the team down if he fought like this.

'Alright, then, I've got to go or I'll be late for work,' May said, 'I left some crackers and water on your desk. And some fever pills. You should take two after lunch.' He heard her walking towards the door, then pulling it almost shut before saying softly, 'Get well soon,' then shut the door quietly while Peter settled in for the day. Within the five minutes after she'd left, he fell asleep.

Peter woke up, groaning in pain as he reached for the ringing phone by his side. Right after he hit the answer button, he was startled at the loud yells coming out of it, bringing on another headache.

'PETER BENJAMIN PARKER! CAN YOU HEAR ME?' Peter could hear screaming in the background, and immediately felt terrified.

'Ned? Where are you? What's happening? Are you OK?'

'We're all fine - just really scared - That's Betty screaming her head off, she'll be fine - But you're in danger.'

'Wait, what?'

'There was someone at school!' Ned shouted into the phone. 'Luckily you weren't here - But he was powered or something - telekinetic I think - wearing some sort of black spiky armour - and he freaked us all out. He didn't hurt anyone of us, luckily - he did throw Principal Moira in the air when Moira tried to call the police, but he's fine, just a little traumatised - he threatened us though - made us all get on the ground and checked the attendance list, then he cursed and ran off - I think he was looking for _you!_'

Peter could hardly breathe. 'OK,' he said, heart thumping, trying to remain calm. 'Um, how long - '

'He just left about five minutes ago.' Ned sounded concerned. 'You've gotta hide, Peter. I know you're sick - you'd better call in the Avengers or something.'

'Yeah - yeah. Thanks, Ned.'

Okay, _now_ Peter was terrified. His hands shook as he opened the Avengers' group chat, which was overflowing with messages.

**spider-baby:** um guys i kinda need help

**spider-baby:** theres a telekinetic running around who just threatened my school and ned says he might be looking for me

**spider-baby:** AND WHO CHANGED MY NICKNAME

**onyourleftcap:** well you cant deny it

**earlywinter:** as much as i hate it birdbrains right on that but WHAT DID YOU TO MINE WILSON

**natasharomanoff:** WHAT ARE YOU MORONS DOING DID YOU NOT SEE WHAT spider-baby WROTE

**natasharomanoff:** spider-baby are you at school?

**spider-baby:** home, i'm sick

**natasharomanoff:** ok what does the guy look like

**spider-baby:** um ned said he had spiky black armour

**natasharomanoff:** how long ago was this

**spider-baby:** ned said he left five mins ago

**natasharomanoff:** ok we'll deal with it get well soon

**spider-baby:** prob no need to call everyone

**natasharomanoff:** we'll see

**natasharomanoff:** are you hiding?

**spider-baby:** going to now

Peter switched off his phone, and tried sitting up. The world starting spinning immediately, making him want to lie back down again, but he forced himself to get up.

OK, OK, hiding spots... Mind swimming, he looked around his room. Wardrobe? Too obvious. Under the bed? They'd probably check there. Oh - right, he thought, looking up. The loft. It wasn't very big, but he could probably fit in there. But he'd have to climb.

His head spun again when he thought of it.

'Alright, come on...' He placed his hands on the wall, then his feet, trying to go faster, though he was feeling so dizzy he could barely think. When he got up to the ceiling, his fingers and toes suddenly unstuck themselves, making him fall straight back on his bed, feeling like he was going to pass out.

Of all the times this could have happened...

Peter tried moving to the wall, half-crawling there, then placed his fingers to the wall again.

They didn't stick.

'Come on,' Peter whispered, annoyance piercing through his clouded mind. 'COME ON - '

A loud scream came from outside.

Alright, Peter thought frantically, looks like that's not working. He dropped down and rolled under the bed, just a minute before he heard the glass from his window shatter.

From under his bed, Peter saw black boots, moving without a single sound. He held his breath, hoping this would all be over soon -

There was the sound of his wardrobe snapping open, then what sounded suspiciously like his desk and chair being lifted into the air and dropped back down, and then -

The bed lifted. Peter grasped onto one of the bed legs as it rose, but his hands slipped and he collapsed into a heap on the ground.

The guy's armour was covering his whole body, even his face. And as Ned said, it was spiky. Like a thousand or million tiny, nails had been flipped over so they could stick their sharp ends out at you, all over the body armour. They glinted red in the light filtering in from the broken window - Peter hoped, really hoped, that that wasn't blood...

Suddenly, Peter felt a strong force lift him into the air, so surprised he barely let out a squeak. His heart pumped as the telekinetic seemed to consider him for a minute.

'You're Spider-Man,' the man said, finally, not a hint of emotion in his voice. 'Peter Parker. Don't even try to deny it - you conveniently placed your suit in your wardrobe.'

Peter mentally slapped himself.

He was so high - so high above the ground - that he felt vertigo again. Maybe not so high, the more reasonable part of his brain said, but his mind was playing tricks on him. The floor looked so far - so far away -

'I've been looking for you.'

'So I heard,' Peter answered, semi-desperately now, trying to ignore the distance between him and the ground which only made him queasier. His headache wasn't making it any easier for him.

'Don't quip with me,' the man said, an edge of danger in his voice. 'You'll find that you'll regret it. What I want is information.

'Nnnh,' Peter mumbled. 'No.'

'Bad choice.'

A sharp pain suddenly sliced through his arm - it was being bent the wrong way around - and no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't resist whatever invisible forces were acting on it - couldn't think straight - his vision had turned white and he could hear someone - himself - screaming -

After what seemed like an eternity, the grip around his arm suddenly loosened, and he gasped in relief. For one moment.

'And...?'

'No,' Peter said, barely a whisper, but the man still heard him.

'Seems like you don't learn from your mistakes.'

Invisible arms wrapped themselves around his neck, making Peter kick and punch and yell in pain, to no avail. Instead the grip only seemed to tighten until he went limp, vision slowly darkening as his throat burned -

And without warning he collapsed to the ground, the invisible arms gone, and breathed deep, quick breaths. When he looked up, he saw the man on the ground, flailing as a blurred red-gold figure flew right into him.

Iron Man... Mr. Stark. In the nick of time.

Peter could hear him yelling at the other guy, even catching his name a couple of times, though he couldn't really make out the words. Instead, his gaze was transfixed outside the window.

He could see Falcon just hovering in the air, wings outstretched, Colonel Rhodes in his suit flying next to him... Clint on a balcony opposite his window, a bow and arrow in his hand... the sounds of Bruce and Wanda yelling from the street below, Bucky and Captain America answering them... and finally, Natasha... climbing into the window.

Peter smiled weakly. 'I thought I said you didn't have to bring everyone.'

'Obviously you were assuming I would listen,' she answered, smirking while giving a worried glance over where Mr. Stark was trying to subdue the telekinetic. 'WILSON, GET WANDA UP HERE,' she yelled out the window. 'NOW - '

There was a clang of metal as Mr. Stark was telekinetically thrown against a wall, cursing. Peter and Nat rushed over - or, at least, tried to -

Peter was almost there when he felt a pull. A force that dragged him over, getting stronger and stronger, until he was standing right in front of the man, who'd obviously already made a full recovery. Oh, no, Peter thought, petrified, literally unable to move. The villain kept Peter right in front of himself, like a shield... Of course.

'Kid!' Mr. Stark yelled, uselessly holding up a thruster. He looked behind Peter. 'Let go of the kid or I swear once all this blows over I'll take dibs on torching you. Or do you prefer strangling?'

' "When" all this blows over?' the villain laughed, still hiding behind Peter. 'You seem awfully confident. But you see, I could just as easily take on all of you - just throw you around a little, strangle you, bend parts of you that aren't supposed to bend - it's something you'll remember. Just ask him,' he gloated, tipping his chin at Peter.

Mr. Stark looked like wouldn't even be waiting if Peter were out of the way.

'Oh,' Natasha replied shortly, a small smile playing on her lips. One that made her look like a viper about to strike. 'I would say you think too much of yourself. You obviously can't control more than a few small things at a time, or we'd both be out the window, wouldn't we?'

The villain said nothing. Natasha had hit a bulls-eye.

'And,' she continued, 'we happen to have a telekinetic of our own, and she's pretty damn powerful herself.'

Right on cue, Wanda dropped through the window, immediately lifting the villain into the air, eyes glowing bright red.

Mr. Stark ran over to Peter, giving him a relieved hug, before glaring back up at the villain.

'I take dibs on torching him for information.'

Despite the red forces binding him and his clear discomfort, the villain laughed. 'As I said, overconfident.'

Pain burst again, this time in Peter's chest, a sharp stabbing pain that grew every second, forcing him to the ground - He started coughing - it was starting to feel hard to breathe again - and he felt like blacking out -

'Kid? Peter?!' Mr. Stark asked, bending down, trying to make Peter stop writhing around on the ground. Snarling at the villain, he yelled, 'What did you do to him?!'

The villain just laughed until a strong repulsor blast hit him square in the stomach, making him scream in pain. Peter felt the hold in his chest loosen, and collapsed to the ground, relieved.

' - and stay down,' he heard Mr. Stark say. 'Wanda, if you please...'

Peter opened his eyes.

'We didn't want to hurt you,' Wanda was saying, though the barely controlled anger in her voice undermined that, 'but considering the circumstances...'

For a moment her eyes flicked to Peter.

'We'll be glad to change plans.'

'I definitely supported Plan B all the way,' Mr. Stark growled.

The villain opened his mouth, as if to refute, when a red mist floated over and the villain's face went blank with horror. Not a moment later, his eyes closed, and he dropped to the floor, unconscious. For a second all of them just stared.

'Let's go, then,' Natasha said, then, calling to the window, 'Pass me some rope, please...'

For Peter, meanwhile, a throbbing headache was coming back - during the fight just now it seemed to have been shadowed by the rest of the pain, but now it was clear as ever. He began to lie down on the floor, hoping to feel better.

'Oh no,' Mr. Stark said, picking him up before he even touched the ground. 'Let's get the spider-baby back to his bed.' There was a chuckle in his voice, though it sounded like it was still covering up some anger.

'Not a spider-baby,' Peter murmured, then slightly raised his voice. 'Sam's really annoying.'

'I CAN HEAR YOU, PARKER!'

'Whatever,' Peter laughed, a short one, because he throat still hurt a bit when he did it, but still a laugh.

Mr. Stark put him down on his bed, then tucked him in, which did make him feel a little bit like a baby.

Maybe he enjoyed it just a little... Though Sam had better never find out.

'After today, Pete, I think you'd better get a rest,' Mr. Stark sighed, eyes glancing over at the still unconscious, now bound telekinetic like he expected the villain to wake up any second. 'We'll deal with this...'

'Asshole,' Peter helpfully supplied.

'For the record, you shouldn't be saying that, but you're right,' Mr. Stark grinned. 'So you just stay here and get well soon. Oh, and we'll get someone to replace the broken window.'

'Mhm.'

Now that he was in his bed, his dizziness returning, Peter felt himself being dragged into sleep again. For a brief moment he resurfaced, saw the telekinetic being carried outside by Sam, who even seemed angry when he saw the villain, Natasha chatting to Wanda, something that sounded like a commendation, and Mr. Stark just standing on the side, glancing at him a little before giving him a smile.

He knew he was going to be safe - for now, if not forever - but that was enough. Sighing, Peter closed his eyes.

He fell asleep almost immediately.

A/N: OK, first of all I've just realised that all three of my whumptober prompts end up with a character sleeping… I wonder if I'm subsconsciously just trying to tell myself something :) Second of all, I really need to get better at writing both the 'hurt' and 'comfort' parts of whump. The actual amount of time Peter is used as a human shield is really short. Third of all, this is technically posted on 5th October, but it's just about an hour late, and I really want to post this.

Thanks for reading! ~ DragonWasser


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